NEWS, FEBRUARY 8TH

Glenwood Springs–Over 600 Garfield County Republicans went to their respective precincts from Carbondale to Parachute for last night’s caucuses. Local Republicans favored Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate while former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum won the statewide caucus vote. Santorum also won in Missouri and Minnesota.

Glenwood Springs–When it comes to land management policies and endangered species, Garfield County Commissioners aren’t content to simply be a cooperating agency. The board is asking for coordinating agency status to make sure the federal government doesn’t go too far in limiting local access.

Vail–A Missouri man was killed in a skiing accident on Vail Mountain. According to reports from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, the 37 year old man was skiing down a black run when the accident occurred. He was wearing a helmet.

Denver–A sales tax holiday is being considered for school supplies and clothing in Colorado. State lawmakers are considering a bill that would waive sales taxes on back-to-school items sold during the first weekend of August.

In other news…

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) – A Colorado ski resort is imposing limits on
alcoholic beverages at its mountain bistro because resort officials
are tired of carting tipsy skiers down the mountain.
The Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro at Aspen Highlands has imposed a
three-drink maximum and removed liquor from the menu, leaving only
beer and wine. The resort had to use snowmobiles because some skiers were too drunk to ski down safely by themselves.

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) – A memorial service is planned Saturday for
a La Plata County sheriff’s deputy who died while snowmobiling on
his day off. Burial services for 57-year-old Hollis Holland were held Monday
in Silverton, but his family and colleagues plan to celebrate his
life at a memorial service at Fort Lewis College on Saturday.
Holland’s body was found the night of Feb. 1 after he failed to
return as planned from snowmobiling that day. Sheriff’s officials
say he died of coronary artery disease. He is survived by his wife, two adult sons and two grandchildren.

DENVER (AP) – The percentage of Colorado students needing to
take remedial courses at the state’s public colleges or
universities after graduating high school has gone up.
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education released a report
Tuesday on students who graduated from high school last spring and
went to a public college in the state. The report showed 31.8 percent tested below college level and had to enroll in remedial courses that don’t
count toward a degree, up from 28.6 percent the year before.
The subject in which students needed the most remedial education
was mathematics. However, universities appear to be retaining a majority of
students in remedial courses. The University of Colorado Boulder
retained almost 76 percent of students who take remedial courses.